Been playing around with a fair few blogs for a while related to this topic. UK Tiling Forum that is.
We started our UK tiling forum back in 2006, April 2nd I think it was. So nearly coming up to 15 whole years being the tiling forum for the UK. Literally.
Our forum, like this Electrical Forum (now posting electrical news from any source by the way!), was the first to be online, and the first to gain traction. And generally when a forum does that, it works ongoing.
We have tried to setup forums for various other topics, I own a lot of automotive-related forums that do well, and 10 times that which don't do well. Likewise in the construction industry we have the three main forums doing well, and then a dozen not doing anything at all.
Providing the forum keeps the members in the loop with a main aim, and they all agree, the forum moves with the industry and it stays current and valid and reputable and on-topic.
This is hard. So spam which we can categories in many ways, is basically posts that aren't wanted. So some examples might be (not saying they're always spam in our case, but as an owner of many forums I am member of many forum-management forums and we see this as a constant battle):-
Obvious ones that member spot
Reasons for spam / types of spam, might be:-
Well, the ones where brands or suppliers are giving away free tools and / or products in return for false-positive feedback on the forum, or in threads.
So false feedback is feedback that is fake. Positive feedback is feedback that will provide positive reviews online. False-positives are the two combined.
This happens in Google reviews, Tripadvisor reviews, it happens massively in Trusted Tradesmen related websites (quick backlink to our own site that's sitting dormant for now by the way, that's not a fake link added or something added by mistake) such as MyBuilder, CheckaTrade etc. By the way, CheckaTrade when you sign up to a new profile, encourage you to email all your "past customers" to leave positive reviews for your new account and profile. Time and time again my own research (including just asking members in our Tilers Arms sections on our forums etc) shows that the profile owner will without a doubt create 5+ gmail addresses the day they have their email from CheckaTrade saying email their customers, to leave their own false-positive reviews.
When regular long-standing members start to say they are regular long standing members of a UK tiling forum and if said company sends them a free tile cutter worth £500, they will share it with their local tiler mate, and get them both leave false-positive reviews, along with pictures of it being used in jobs etc in return.
The company supplying said product(s) get cocky and PM or email a few other regular members and ask them to do the same thing.
---- no. I removed all their content, removed the company in question, and ----ed off a lot of regular members as I couldn't explain (due to data protection etc) what's really gone on.
So they start a forum of their own.
The company they plugged "sponsors" them. And they end up creating a new UK Tiling Forum that's littered with false-positives.
Not only that, they start coming back to our forums under new names as their own forum is so quiet and they're so used to expressing their views online that they aren't getting enough threads on their own forum to nurture their feels.
I bought some domain names, and rank higher than they do for their own domain. And then some. I've created this article mainly to rank along side my blogs and sites I've made. But also to show you how we protect you and your advice.
We don't want false fake advice on our forums. And spam isn't always ------ spam. Sometimes it can be paid-for under-the-radar 'spam' (unwanted posts). And sometimes it can be the members who think they run the forum and can do anything on it, that lose the most when it happens.
Because our forums certainly don't lose traffic.
And I certainly don't let competitors off easy. That's my job. Stay number one.
So here are some links I need to post to this article. Check them out, they're not the best sites or blogs, but they rank where I need them to rank. And that's good enough for me. What took them 4 months to make one wordpress-based site, I made 6 wordpress sites in a day and every one ranks above theirs for different terms.
Cheers for reading this far. You didn't need to. I just needed a lot of words in this post.
You can help by replying to it with a few words and a question, so I can reply to that again with a question, and we make this 'article' a dozen or so posts long. That'd do it some good.
UK Tiling Forum Websites and Blogs and Things:-
Threads around Electrical News:-
UK Tiling Forum - The Tiling Forum for the UK, but also overseas too. Hmmmmm
We started our UK tiling forum back in 2006, April 2nd I think it was. So nearly coming up to 15 whole years being the tiling forum for the UK. Literally.
Our forum, like this Electrical Forum (now posting electrical news from any source by the way!), was the first to be online, and the first to gain traction. And generally when a forum does that, it works ongoing.
We have tried to setup forums for various other topics, I own a lot of automotive-related forums that do well, and 10 times that which don't do well. Likewise in the construction industry we have the three main forums doing well, and then a dozen not doing anything at all.
The first UK Tiling Forum, or UK Anything Forum, will always be THE forum for that said topic
Providing the forum keeps the members in the loop with a main aim, and they all agree, the forum moves with the industry and it stays current and valid and reputable and on-topic.
How do people who run forums stop them from being 'spammed from the inside'?
This is hard. So spam which we can categories in many ways, is basically posts that aren't wanted. So some examples might be (not saying they're always spam in our case, but as an owner of many forums I am member of many forum-management forums and we see this as a constant battle):-
Obvious ones that member spot
- ------ spam
- Buy a lady from Vietnam spam
- Gambling spam
- Spam aimed at our obvious user base
Reasons for spam / types of spam, might be:-
- To physically get a member to click a link - so targeted topics aimed at what they assume is a lonely bloke
- Some spam is just to get a link in a thread on an established forum - this will be things like 'visit our website to buy cheap bitcoin' and then the wording cheap bitcoin is a link. They're trying to increase a genuine bitcoin sites (sometimes) own ranking in Google, so they get some genuine natural traffic.
What's the worst type of 'unwanted posts' (or spam) on a UK Tiling Forum then?
Well, the ones where brands or suppliers are giving away free tools and / or products in return for false-positive feedback on the forum, or in threads.
So false feedback is feedback that is fake. Positive feedback is feedback that will provide positive reviews online. False-positives are the two combined.
This happens in Google reviews, Tripadvisor reviews, it happens massively in Trusted Tradesmen related websites (quick backlink to our own site that's sitting dormant for now by the way, that's not a fake link added or something added by mistake) such as MyBuilder, CheckaTrade etc. By the way, CheckaTrade when you sign up to a new profile, encourage you to email all your "past customers" to leave positive reviews for your new account and profile. Time and time again my own research (including just asking members in our Tilers Arms sections on our forums etc) shows that the profile owner will without a doubt create 5+ gmail addresses the day they have their email from CheckaTrade saying email their customers, to leave their own false-positive reviews.
When does it become a problem for a UK Tiling Forum?
When regular long-standing members start to say they are regular long standing members of a UK tiling forum and if said company sends them a free tile cutter worth £500, they will share it with their local tiler mate, and get them both leave false-positive reviews, along with pictures of it being used in jobs etc in return.
How do they get clocked by the UK Tiling Forum?
The company supplying said product(s) get cocky and PM or email a few other regular members and ask them to do the same thing.
Awks Position For The Owner Now Then?
---- no. I removed all their content, removed the company in question, and ----ed off a lot of regular members as I couldn't explain (due to data protection etc) what's really gone on.
So they start a forum of their own.
The company they plugged "sponsors" them. And they end up creating a new UK Tiling Forum that's littered with false-positives.
Not only that, they start coming back to our forums under new names as their own forum is so quiet and they're so used to expressing their views online that they aren't getting enough threads on their own forum to nurture their feels.
Protection or Retaliation? - Probably both
I bought some domain names, and rank higher than they do for their own domain. And then some. I've created this article mainly to rank along side my blogs and sites I've made. But also to show you how we protect you and your advice.
We don't want false fake advice on our forums. And spam isn't always ------ spam. Sometimes it can be paid-for under-the-radar 'spam' (unwanted posts). And sometimes it can be the members who think they run the forum and can do anything on it, that lose the most when it happens.
Because our forums certainly don't lose traffic.
And I certainly don't let competitors off easy. That's my job. Stay number one.
So here are some links I need to post to this article. Check them out, they're not the best sites or blogs, but they rank where I need them to rank. And that's good enough for me. What took them 4 months to make one wordpress-based site, I made 6 wordpress sites in a day and every one ranks above theirs for different terms.
Cheers for reading this far. You didn't need to. I just needed a lot of words in this post.
You can help by replying to it with a few words and a question, so I can reply to that again with a question, and we make this 'article' a dozen or so posts long. That'd do it some good.
UK Tiling Forum Websites and Blogs and Things:-
-
UK Tiling Forum | Tile Forum; Tiling Advice And Tile News UK
TilingForums.co.uk; UK Tiling Forum | Tiling Advice - Tilers Forum. Tilers, Tiling and Tiles. Tile Suppliers, Tiling Courses, Tiling Tips and Advice. UK Tile Community.
www.tilingforums.co.uk
- UK Tiling Forum | Tilers, Tiling and Tiles - https://www.uktilingforums.com/ - @------------ will notice a plug or three on this site
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Tiling Advice > Wall and Floor Tiling Advice | UK Tiling Forum - DIY & Pro Tilers Forums
UK Tiling Forum | Tiling Advice : Tilers Forum - Tile Advice. Tiling Courses, Tiling Tools, UK Tile Forum, How to Tile. Find a Tiler and Tile Supplier UK.
www.tilersforums.com
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Tiling Tools | Tilers Tools to Buy Online. Discounted Cutting Tile Tools Trade
Tiling Tools for DIY and Trade. Buy Tilers Tools Onliine at Discounted Priced. Cutting Tile Tools inc Wet Cutters, Diamond Cutting Discs, Tile Cutters and more.
www.protilingtools.co.uk
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UK Tiling News | UK Tiling Forum | Tiling Courses | Tiling Tools | Tile Adhesive | Tiling News
UK Tiling News | UK Tiling Forum | Tiling Courses | Tiling Tools | Tile Adhesive. Free Tile Advice from the UK Tile Industry. UK Tilers Forum.www.uktilingnews.co.uk -
UK Tiling Forum
Just cadging a link to our UK tiling forum. www.tilersforums.com - The UK Tiling Forum that took over the .co.uk domain name some time ago. www.tilersforums.co.uk - The UK Tiling Forum that hosted the forum from April 2006 to around late 2019 I think. www.uktilingforums.com - The newest domain...
www.electriciansforums.net
- https://www.------------/TilersForums/
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UK Tiling Forum - they proper hate us don't they?
Been looking at the tilers forum UK Tiling Forum as I've been getting quite a few refurbs and can't find a decent tiler so been doing it myself. Got some good gear and although I'm not particularly quick, I do a good job. Some of the blokes on there really have got a bee in the bonnet about...
www.plumbersforums.net
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UK Tiling Forum: Tilers Forums for the UK. Find the 5 Best Reasons to Visit
A Blog about UK Tiling Forum websites in the UK. Find information about TileForums.com, TilingForum.co.uk, UKTilingForum.com and more.
www.electriciansforums.co.uk
- https://www.-------------------/
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UK Tiling Forum Brilliant Review 10/10 by Tilers Forum
A Review of UK Tiling Forum by ProTilingTools.co.uk, the fastest growing tiling tools company along side the fastest growing tiling forum. UK. UK Tilers Forum and Advice.
www.protilingtools.co.uk
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Tiles Industry Experts | The Tile Association (TTA) UK
The Tile Association (TTA) represents ALL aspects of the wall and floor tiles industry in the UK, from manufacture to installation. Find out more today.
www.tiles.org.uk
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UK Tiling Forum | Tile Advice Forum
Questions and tiling advice in the UK Tiling Forum | Tile Advice Forum - The UK Tile Advice Forum | General UK Tiling Forum, for all aspects of wall and floor tiling. Tiling advice provided for free on the forum. Along with tile adhesive choice, tiling tool advice, DIY tiling how-to guides...
www.tilersforums.com
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DIY Tiling Forum | How to tile
Questions and tiling advice in the DIY Tiling Forum | How to tile - Main DIY Tiling Forum How to tile wall and floor, how to tile bathrooms, how to tile kitchen splashbacks, how to find the starting point for tiling. All discussed in this DIY tiling advice forum. Tiling Advice for DIY tilers. UK...
www.tilersforums.com
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UK Tiling Forum | Tiling Advice
UK Tiling Forum - All General Tiling Advice Covered. The World's Largest Tiling and Tile Forum. Free tiling advice and guidance on all aspects of wall and floor tiling including (but not limited to) tiling courses, tiling tools, tile adhesive, tile choice, tile cutters. | UK, America, Canada...
www.tilersforums.com
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UK Tiling Forum Community Forums
TilersForums.com / Tilers Forums community forums. Find things for sale, chat forums, the welcome area (for introduction threads), and other community-orientated forum categories. UK Tiling Forum, Tiling Courses, Tile Advice, Professional Tiling Forum, DIY Tile Forums. Courses for Tiling...
www.tilersforums.com
Threads around Electrical News:-
- UK Tiling Forum - ElectriciansForums.co.uk Blog Feed - https://www.electriciansforums.net/threads/uk-tiling-forum-electriciansforums-co-uk-blog-feed.191406/#uk-tiling-forum
- Tiling Advice and Tiling Project Management - ElectriciansForums.co.uk Blog Feed - https://www.electriciansforums.net/threads/tiling-advice-and-tiling-project-management-electriciansforums-co-uk-blog-feed.191306/#uk-tiling-forum
